The convergence of television and computers in the realm of the Internet has resulted in the increasing popularity of devices that are able to provide access to the Internet, as well as allow viewing of television channels. The first such devices had two distinct modes, an Internet mode and a television mode. In the Internet mode, a user accesses the Internet similar to the way that he or should would on a stand-alone computer. For example, the user may browse web sites on the world-wide web (“the web”), send and receive email, and perform other tasks. In the television mode, the user views television channels similar to the way that he or she would on a television without Internet capability. Next-generation convergence devices, however, portend the integration of these two modes. The user may be able to participate in a chat room that is related to the television program he or she is watching. The user may be able to click on the television program being viewed, and be transported on the Internet to a web site related to the program. The user may also be able to click on the television program being viewed to send an email of the producers of the program.
However, even with the advent of such next-generation convergence devices, advertisers are still constrained with advertising in conjunction with one of the two distinct modes, instead of being able to advertise in an integrated Internet and television mode. For example, advertisers can pay for traditional television ads, which are usually thirty- or sixty-second segments displayed a number at a time during interruptions of a television program. With respect to the Internet, most Internet-oriented advertising is in the form of banner ads on web pages. For example, when a user browses a particular web site, there may be one or more sections of the web pages of the site dedicated to advertising. Little or no advertising takes advantage of the convergence between television and the Internet. Furthermore, Internet-oriented advertising is typically viable only when the user is actively browsing the Internet. For these and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.